| | When farm direct marketers add an element of “experience” to an agricultural product, that could be called a value-added service. The extra value and increased profit that comes from processing a product can also be realized by adding experiences. Adding to the experience of visiting a farm or a farmers’ market can increase interest and encourage return visits from happy customers.
“The key to profiting from experiences comes down to perspective,” says Kerry Engel, with the Farm Direct Marketing Initiative, Alberta Agriculture Food and Rural Development, and Director Canada West for the North American Farmers’ Direct Marketing Association (NAFDMA), Westlock. “Producers who provide services and stage experiences can charge accordingly. More and more people are willing to pay a premium to turn the mundane into a sensation.”
At the upcoming Grow West convention, being held in Calgary in February 2007, farm direct marketers will have the unique opportunity to visit and tour farms and ranches that have mastered the art of experience. One of the tours, called Grow the Experience, will provide participants with an opportunity to spend more time at each site, go behind the scenes and delve deeper into the creation of value-added services. It will be a chance to meet other advanced farm direct marketers and ag tourism operators while learning the elements of experience marketing.
Building on this tour is the conference’s keynote speaker, Joseph Pine, co-author of the highly acclaimed book The Experience Economy. For those looking to further profits on their farm or ranch by exploring this exciting new realm of marketing, the Grow West convention is the place to be.
Grow West Alberta 2007 offers three main opportunities to learn about marketing skills: the bus tour, being held on February 12, 13, and 14, the workshop day which is being held on February 15 and the conference on February 16 and 17. Flexible registration allows participants can attend any of the components, any combination thereof or all three.
This year’s convention is being presented in partnership with the Alberta Farm Fresh Producers Association, Alberta Farmers’ Market Association, Alberta Agriculture, Food and Rural Development and the Renewal Chapter of the Agricultural Policy Framework.
Convention details and registration packages are available on-line at www.nafdma.com or by calling the NAFDMA office at 1-888-884-9270. For further information or to receive a conference package by mail, contact Engel at (780) 644-2927.
Contact: Kerry Engel (780) 644-2967 |
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